Before they leave on their fall migration, put out a hummingbird feeder

If you’re lucky, you may be enjoying the company of hummingbirds in your yard from spring and now into summer. But like many other birds, some hummingbirds are now on the move. And there are more of them with a new cohort of fledglings joining the populations that migrated north this spring. But the movements of migrations of late summer and early fall don’t have the same intensity as spring, and hummingbirds aren’t in a hurry to head south considering there is a seasonal peak of flowers and tiny insects in certain climates to feed on, say the folks at The Birding Wire.

But avid birders can provide supplemental food in a popular nectar feeder that may help keep hummingbirds returning to your yard longer – possibly weeks longer. 

Providing sugar-water nectar in a feeder for hummingbirds is one the simplest things to do to attract these impressive tiny and fast birds to our yards, and you may be lucky to have more than one species visiting your feeder since there are more than a dozen species of hummingbirds that range north of Mexico. For birders living in the eastern half of the U.S. and southern Canada, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will probably be our only feeder visitors. 

If you haven’t tried attracting hummingbirds to your yard, it’s fairly easy and considerably cheaper than traditional bird food. It only takes an inexpensive feeder filled with fresh sugar-water nectar that is mixed in a solution that mimics the natural nectar produced by flowers and is available in many hardware or birding stores. Simply mix the water and sugar in a 4-to-1 ratio (4 parts water to 1-part sugar) using only white pure cane sugar. Pour the sweet solution into a clean nectar feeder for hummingbirds, then wait for one or more hummers to arrive. You may also have bees or wasps visit as well, however. 

Any flowering plants that produce tube-shaped flowers that you may already have, especially red-tube-shaped flowers will attract the birds. Hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers because they produce nectar with the highest sugar content. Even though it’s late in the season, you may want to add a few plants from a greenhouse and consider planting one for next season. 

After the nesting season is complete and as hummingbirds disperse and begin early migration, they’ll still provide exciting observations throughout August and September. You may also get hummingbirds that will stopover during their migration. 

PGC/PFBC DEPUTY NEWS

In case you haven’t heard, the Pennsylvania’s Game and Fish/Boat Commissions are ending their deputy game warden and deputy waterways conservation officer programs effective September 1. With little explanation, the agencies are ending this 123-year tradition. 

Some time ago, one PGC deputy I know told me that deputies underwent basic training and firearms training for the part-time position. Aside from assisting the full-time officers, they manned agency information booths at events like the Harrisburg Sports Show and others. 
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